Hi everyone. IMHO, we should completely overhaul wildland fire policy in America. Current policy is shaped by fear. We should try to reduce fear through education, and shape policy more pragmatically. It is natural for most of North America's native ecosystems to burn periodically, and in most cases, very frequently. Instead of fighting fires so much, we need to accept them, and even ecourage/prescribe them. (I know, easy for me to say, I am a longleaf pine ecosystem manager in the Southeast, where on our preserve, long ago, we eliminated our hazardous fuels with frequent ecologically prescribed fire). Fire is essential in the maintenance of biodiversity. Instead of putting out fires, we should focus more on education of the public about the importance of fire, how to protect your structures from fire if you live on the urban-wildland interface, and deploy fire personnel more so to help protect property than to put out fires....IOW, in general, let fires burn, but protect people from losses through grant assistance, personnel deployment, and education. Thank you for this opportunity to voice my opinion.
Hi everyone. IMHO, we should completely overhaul wildland fire policy in America. Current policy is shaped by fear. We should try to reduce fear through education, and shape policy more pragmatically. It is natural for most of North America's native ecosystems to burn periodically, and in most cases, very frequently. Instead of fighting fires so much, we need to accept them, and even ecourage/prescribe them. (I know, easy for me to say, I am a longleaf pine ecosystem manager in the Southeast, where on our preserve, long ago, we eliminated our hazardous fuels with frequent ecologically prescribed fire). Fire is essential in the maintenance of biodiversity. Instead of putting out fires, we should focus more on education of the public about the importance of fire, how to protect your structures from fire if you live on the urban-wildland interface, and deploy fire personnel more so to help protect property than to put out fires....IOW, in general, let fires burn, but protect people from losses through grant assistance, personnel deployment, and education. Thank you for this opportunity to voice my opinion.